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While We're Gone: Rifted Africa
5 Million Years in the future...and the world's been plunged in the deep freeze with another ice age. But it's more than just cold weather that's been going down over the past few million years; Africa, in particular, is going through a big rift. African Rift Valley, that is! You see, in 5 Million Years time, Africa's collided against Europe, closing the Straits of Gibraltar, and also losing part of itself to continental unrest. In short, like Madagascar before it, the Rift Valley has become its own little isolated world, and this new African island has some unique ideas in store! Of course, due to the small space, there isn't as many big animals as there once was, but there's also a higher chance for unique niches to be filled along the road of evolution. Sadly, because of this climate change, some of our good friends in the modern day died out, but some have indeed managed to cling on. Most notably of the roster is a notorious primate species known as the Mandrillions. So called for its lionesque mane, this mandrill descendant commutes from their mountain refuges to the treetops of the jungle, collecting fruit, insects, and carrion among other things. They've evolved longer canines, similarly to the Snowstalkers of Europe. Except while the Snowstalker's teeth are more brittle, and mainly used for ambushing weak Shagrats, these vicious, chattering monkeys use them to hunt in small troops against any potential prey items in the area. Think of them as savage Babookaris. One of said prey items is a short descendant of the wildebeest called the Wildecorn. Contrary to the name, said ungulate doesn't have just one magical horn, but two horns that twist together like a hardened churro. ...Probably could've said that better, but I digress. Regardless, they retain some of their ancestor's migratory skills, joining in what few other ungulate species are left in an event called the Great Migration. Simply put, the Great Migration is what happens when three or more herbivorous mammals congregate searching for proper grazing wherever good grass patches are left on This Island Africa. But unfortunately, there is one minor hitch in this journey, and it's not just the Mandrillions. There's two other important predatory residents that make this island home. The first is one of which our good herbivores will find at the river; a notorious predator, and one of the major crocodylians of the age: the Icthyospinus! These powerful reptiles are descended from the Nile crocodile, and just about as voracious. They've retained many of their ancestor's hunting habits with one major exception; a large, synapsid-esque sail on its back. It uses it partly to warm up in the morning, and partly as a way to ward off potential rivals by flushing said sails full of blood. And it's not just these beasts that the creatures of Rifted Africa must deal with; for while the Carakiller rules the grasslands of the Amazon, the Skullstork rules the roost when it comes to pack hunting as birds. Descended from the dreaded Marabou Stork, these long-necked, long-billed birds gave up flight in favor of quickly running and attacking any prey items they can find. And this includes the intrepid Mandrillions. And worse still in the rivers is another nasty surprise; hiding in the rivers and streams of Rifted Africa is a dreaded fish that eats young Icthyospinus and just about anything else smaller than they are. The Icthyosmilus is so-called for their large teeth, which two of them are longer than the rest. This resemblance to the Saber-Toothed Cat is also what gives them the fearsome reputation of a powerful hunter. But that's not to say the Wildecorn, nor any potential prey items are defenseless. In fact, part of the reason they congregate in the Great Migration is to remained secured by one major ally: the Javelin Horn. A relative of modern-day gazelles, their horns have adapted in a most peculiar, yet effective manner. One horn has been elongated, so as to joust with rivals over mating rights like ye olde knights of King Arthur's day. The other, much shorter, is much sharper than the other, and used similarly to a pocket knife, defending against predators. As Wildecorns and Javelin Horns wander the plains for food, the Congabon enjoys a life of eating in the forests near the mountains. With horns that now have fused on one end and extend over their snouts, they use this bizarre system to push away dense vegetation in their way. The rest of their horns are now curved the other way, and are used to rut with other males, or fending off a troop of hunting Mandrillions. When they're not fending off predators, the Congabons can usually be seen near rivers and streams in the forest, drinking and wading through the water as they wash away any parasites that cling to their velvet-like fur. Which is good, considering there's one other major predator to contend with; a fierce spotted hyena descendant called the Bonecrusher! Being the most opportunistic predators of the modern savanna (and arguably, the true ''top predators of modern day Africa), it's only natural that the hyena would find a way to survive the Rift Valley's little solo journey. Standing 4 feet tall as the shoulder, they're the apex predators of the land, and will eat just about any prey item they can get their jaws around. That's because said jaws, like with the hyenas of today, are able to crush bone, and even eat teeth! So they've essentially become the Daeodon of the future, being major bullies to any species in front of them! That is, except for one that towers as the reigning herbivore; one that has taken up a task once championed by the Deinotherium and modern-day elephants. Again, that's not to say they're extinct on the mainland, but here, they sadly couldn't keep up long enough to do anything about the climate. However, there is one creature that took its place, and thrives. Enter the '''Pachypig': descendant of the warthog, and biggest land mammal in Rifted Africa. They roam the savannas of Rifted Africa like the ancient Gomphotheres of old, and have what appears to be two teeth on the lower jaw and two tusks. And much like the elephants of today, the Pachypig is also arguably the most dangerous herbivore on the continent! When in musth, they become insanely aggressive, attacking any creature that pisses them off, often chasing them down and trampling them under their massive feet! But when it's not mating season (i.e. when musth usually kicks in), they're relatively harmless in terms of behavior, only attacking when provoked. Not to mention, it's one of the few animals that Mandrillions avoid as a rule. T''hough the Pachypig may be a big hog that resembles the elephant, this antelope is by far the tallest among them, resembling an old friend called the giraffe. Keep in mind that the giraffe isn't extinct, simply displaced from the African Rift Valley by its separation from the mainland. In its stead is the gerenuk, which has slowly been gaining the giraffe's amazing ability to become taller and graze from the tops of acacia trees that still dot the landscape. Appropriately, they're called '''Giraffalopes'. However, the ability to stand taller than everything else has its drawbacks. Most notably, that their internal systems are now different compared to their ancestors, needing to spread their legs out to do much of anything involving drinking from the watering hole. This subcontinent is perhaps the most special thus far on our journey, as it's one of the last places where ungulates still have some footing, where almost everywhere else has a rodent of some kind taking up where they left off. In 5 million years time, Africa has made like an amoeba and made another subcontinent like with Madagascar. And lemme tell ya, it only gets more bizarre from here; from predatory monkeys that sleep on mountains, large warthogs with distended snouts like elephants, a dorsal-spined crocodile with the tenacity of a Deinosuchus. All this and more thrive on this bizarre subcontinent of an isle. And with just one last stop on our tour, who knows where this bizarre trek takes us next! Category:While We're Gone Category:Future Earth Category:Rifted Africa Category:5 Million Years